Overview

Weave your way along the beautiful Li River and explore the luscious Chinese countryside on a full-day tour from Guilin. Accompanied by a knowledgeable guide, capture fantastic photographs of the spectacular scenery as you sail down the calm river for four hours; feast on freshly caught fish and local specialties on board for lunch; and disembark to immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of street vendors in a rustic village. Peruse bespoke boutiques selling fine Chinese paintings and precious jade jewellery and enjoy convenient round-trip transportation from your Guilin hotel.

Cruise along the impressionable lush green rock formations of the Li River

Enjoy Lunch onboard, local favorites and fresh catches from the Li River

Stroll through the colorful bustling markets and local street vendors from the ancient town of Yangshuo

What To Expect

Depart from your Guilin hotel in a comfortable, air-conditioned minivan and climb aboard your awaiting boat to commence your 4-hour cruise upriver. Sink into a cushioned seat in the main cabin or capture fantastic photographs of the scenery from the open-air viewing platform as you sail. Marvel at the luscious landscapes that have inspired Chinese artists for centuries and scour the scenery for rare wildlife and fascinating flora. Pleasure your palate with a flavorsome and fulfilling lunch served onboard; feast on freshly caught fish from the Li River and disembark at the village of Yangshuo to stroll amid the bustling local market place. Inhale enticing aromas of street food stalls then climb back onto your comfortable coach for the return trip back to Guilin. On arrival, visit some spectacular shopping spots to peruse boutiques selling precious jade artifacts and refined Chinese paintings. Opt to remain in Yangshuo if you wish and partake in some exhilarating activities at your own expense. If you wish to stay, please note that you will need to make your own way back to Guilin.Please see the Itinerary section below for a pricelist and description of each activity.

This tour gets five stars from many reviewers but that would be due to the spectacular scenery, not the tour itself. The Li river cruises is big business. There were thousands of people going on boats simultaneously with us and the tickets are expensive. This wasnt even peak season. It became obvious the business is there and the incentive for tour companies to do a good job is not there. People come anyhow.

1. We were not contacted about pickup until 9 pm the night before and even then it was confusing. The fist caller said we would be picked up from our hotel. A second caller, ten minutes later said we had to go somewhere else to be picked up, so a third phone call finally confirmed hotel pickup, which was on time.

2. There was a 90 minute bus drive to where we boarded the boat. This time was used by our guide to talk incessantly and loudly in Chinese despite the fact most passengers were not Chinese. There was very little said in English. He talked without break the whole trip and a lot of what he said was promoting merchandise he wanted to sell. I actually saw people with their fingers in their ears to try and escape his talking.

3. The guide did speak English and very fast but most of what he said was impossible to understand. Those who dont speak English as a first language would have understood nothing.

4. Even on the boat the loud announcements continued with the ship photographer promoting his services. This was all in Chinese.

5. There was an add on tour after the boat ride which we told once were were on the ship. It appeared interesting enough but we just couldnt cope the guide talking anymore and opted out, even though the price was not that high. This, however meant that the tour company didnt provide transport back to Guilin and it was up to us to find the bus station which is a 45 minutes walk out of town in order to find and pay for a public bus back.

6. This 10 hour tour is really a half day tour. If you dont take up the additional tour in the afternoon it is all over by 1.30.

It was one of my best Tours , the best one in China . Even if it was a foggy day , the magic atmosphere made it more interesting . The photos below are illustrating the reality . When in China , this Tour is a must !

This is likely the most touristy I have ever felt. The process of getting to the river and on the boat was ok. These boat cruises are very big business and you will be on one of about 15 very large boats. Despite the not so ideal process of navigating the masses to board, this is still an experience to do! The views from the boat were absolutely amazing and the cruise is quite long so the hubbub up front is worth it. I would vigorously suggest bringing some snacks/lunch as the meal served on the boat was pretty gross and I'm not that picky in foreign countries. We did an after tour in the village that was pretty touristy as well but we enjoyed it and would do it again. Get your snacks and water and go for it!

Well worth doing - at almost any price actually about 79. Viator gave an almost immediate response either tour is available or not, and used Tang Tours. They were excellent. In particular they provided details of pickup times quickly. Guides were knowledgeable and very helpful

Don't choose this tour! First of all, no hotel pick-up as it was promised. The guide called the hotel a day before of the tour and we had to be at a different place at 8:00am expressing to be there 10 minutes in advance. But we had to wait until 8:40 am! The bus was broken they said. But they could still inform us by a call.
I trust the reviews but didn't notice they are mostly old ones. Apparently many things changed: it is clearly mentioned a minivan in the tour specifications. But they came with a big touring bus, more than 30 people.
Also, the lunch is a very simple microwave box while it is written in the text that you will enjoy a fresh catch and nice food.
In general the tour was not organized at all and we suffered it. For example, they asked us to pay 50 RMB to be on the second floor of the cruise in order to enjoy a better view. We paid and only in the boat, the guide said we either need to sit separate upstairs or we should sit downstairs. We were so angry after all that we asked to call a taxi and take us back to Guilin. However, she finally arranged the seats.

This was a MUST do tour. It was just amazingly scenic as one drifted along the Li River. Lunch provided was good. Transportation was fine too. However, I realized that people who bought the tour in Guilin just the night before paid 60 while I paid 109 on Viator much in advance. My advice would be to buy your tour there. I didn't purchase the optional tour 22 in Yangshuo though it sounded really good because I was angry at having paid so much more than everyone who had booked it locally. That optional tour should have been given to me for free given I had already paid so much more than other people...